Monuments Across America

Americans seem to have a love affair with monuments. I suppose we're not alone in this, though I think most nation's monuments are primarily concerned with patriotic symbols. We have our fair share of those as well, but I wonder if we're unique in our penchant for putting up monuments to banalities. They're silly, but I like 'em, and I stopped by a few monuments, patriotic and not, on my way home from Colorado a few weeks back.

If you're driving along I-80, near Blue Water, Minnesota, there's a monument just off of the highway that's not to be missed. It seems that back in 1979, some of the city fathers felt that their city needed a facelift, as well as a monument that would pay tribute to the backbone of the local economy: agriculture, and specifically, Green Giant. I'm certain a committee was formed, ideas were bandied about, and through countless hours of conversation, it was clear what needed to happen: it was high time to erect an 8,000 lb., 55 1/2 ft. tall statue of the Jolly Green Giant.

I suppose Blue Earth considers that Jolly man to be a captain of industry, so why not build a statue with a size 78 shoe? (This behemoth shoe size is apparently something that the chamber of commerce has calculated--I think it might be a sort of calling card for the community). As I was taking in this oddity, I couldn't help but wonder what the artist's first thought was when he was approached with the commission, as well as what the unveiling ceremony was like. Drum roll please! It's one of the stranger things I've seen, and yet I must admit I was giggling with satisfaction when I saw the Green Giant on the horizon. When I arrived, there were a couple of cars there, with families picnicking. As I walked closer to this monument to the canned veggie, I drafted a girl who offered to take my picture. I attempted to give her a quick tutorial on vertical vs. horizontal shots, but to no avail.
I kind of like the picture though. The little girl that you can see in the foreground was giving me directorial input, suggesting that I sit on the Giant's feet. When I came back down, she proceeded to ask me if I would clean her glasses, to which her sister proclaimed, "don't do it--she asks everybody," followed by a little roll of the eyes. I told the little girl that she should find someone who really knows how to do it, while failing to remember that I had glasses on the whole time. Oh well. I thought better of wiping the sludge off the child's glasses, for fear of what the girl's parents would think of this guy who stopped to get a picture of the Jolly Green Giant, messing with anything belonging to their daughter.



I trudged on the rest of the day, and around 10:00 that night, started looking for a mom and pop motel somewhere. My car took the exit to Sparta, WI, and I stayed at the Best Knight's Inn, run by a couple from Serbia. I've become a fan of the mom and pop motel. It can be a bit of a crap shoot, but so far, I've had good luck with them. This one was clean and a great deal. I picked up a little reading material in the office, and soon discoverd that Sparta is the self proclaimed Bicycle Capital of the World. Who knew? I figured Paris might have claim to that, but I'm not quibbling. Sparta does hold title to the first community with a rail to trail conversion in America, and the cities surrounding Sparta are marked with trails galore. I think it would be an interesting place to bike, since one of these trails goes though three old rail tunnels, one of which is nearly a mile long. For all of these reasons, Sparta's become a bit of a Mecca for biking enthusiasts, and a must-see part of any visit in Sparta after you've "been bikin'" is a stop at the statue of Ben Biken, the "Biggest Biker in America." Reading this, I just knew in the morning I had to swing by and see Ben Biken.

He's a 32 ft fiberglass statue, and apparently just recently, he's begun talking. I missed hearing him tell me about the wonders of Sparta, so I guess I'll just have to make a return trip. He's really become a focal point for the community. There's now an annual Ben Biken BBQ that takes place each summer, and the city has really taken him on as a mascot. I must say I'm more impressed with Blue Earth's JGG--no fiberglass for their behemoth, and he does have that awe-inspiring shoe size. I'm thinking Blue Earth's mascot could kick Ben's tush right off of that namby-pamby bike too, if anyone's keeping score. For all those cities out there looking to find a kitchy mascot statue for the city gates, please follow Blue Earth's lead, will ya, and do it right.




Now of course, any trip out west has to include some patriotic monuments. There are probably more monuments to Lincoln than anyone else in this country, and Wyoming got into the act at a rest stop on I-80. They call this stretch of asphalt Lincoln's Highway, and to mark the Sesquicentennial of Lincoln's birth, they erected a statue of Lincoln, gazing into the East at the highest point on I-80.


It's basically just a bust of Lincoln atop a granite column, and it's all well and good, though the angle of Lincoln's head looks as if someone just did a karate chop to the back of his neck, though you can't see that too well from the photo. And speaking of his neck, man...it sure seems as if the poor man has some serious psorias issues. Time for some Curel.


I of course hold Lincoln in the highest esteem, and the highlight of my trip home was a stop at Mt. Rushmore. It added a day to my trip, but it was completely worth it. I've wanted to visit Mt. Rushmore since I was a kid, and everytime I've watched North By Northwest (a great movie, by the way), my interest was rekindled. For me, it's been on that list of things I have to see before I die. Now, having visited once, I'm definitely going back.

Rushmore is in the Black Hills of South Dakota. I never had any idea how beautiful South Dakota is. I regretted that I only had a few hours to spend there, since I feel I could spend a week there and never grow tired of the landscape. It's a remarkably beautiful country. There are craggy peaks and bare rock peaking through hills, all covered with pine and spruce forests along the road leading to Rushmore. The air is clean and refreshing, with that smell of pine needles warmed by the sun that you can only get when travelling through a pine forest. I can't say enough positive things about this part of South Dakota.



Rushmore itself is clearly the highlight of the trip however. It's a temple to American ideals, and I was surprised how moved I was. A friend of mine asked me if I was underwhelmed when I was actually standing in front of the monument, but the opposite was the case. As I wandered through the monument, and walked along the trails where the words of the presidents are posted, I was surprised that I became a little emotional. This is patriotism that is healthy, not a distorted nationalism which leads to horrendous acts. I was reminded how grateful I am to live in this country, and my gratitude and appreciation for the great men who have gone before us to build this nation was renewed and strengthened. Those four men on Rushmore, Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson and Teddy Roosevelt, were great men who fought for the ideals of freedom and democracy, and to each of them, we owe an immense debt. I for one am glad that they are memorialized in such a permanent fashion.

As you walk up to Rushmore, there's an Avenue of the States, featuring all of the state flags, and their date of admittance to the Union. Of course I had to swing by Michigan, and take a look.
It was sort of hard to get a picture of the Michigan plaque, and Rushmore at the same time, but I found a way.

What I never knew about Rushmore is that it was never completed. It's only partially finished. Washington is the most complete, but there is still little detail that is done, besides the faces. They simply ran out of money and support, and there are no plans to resume. We have the four faces, and that's essentially all we have. In the original studio of the artist, you can see a model of his original vision. I found it fascinating to compare the two, and see really how far they were from completion, though I think what we have is enough. Click on this picture to get the "big picture" of what the original plan was.

Rushmore was truly inspirational for me. It stirred up feelings of national pride that I've not felt in quite sometime. I felt a renewed awareness that we are privileged to live here, and with that privilege comes great responsibility. The words of Theodore Roosevelt, on display at Rushmore, resonated with me: "We, here in America, hold in our hands the hopes of the world, the fate of the coming years; and shame and disgrace will be ours if in our eyes the light of high resolve is dimmed, if we trail in the dust the golden hopes of men." He said this not too long before the American intervention in WWI, and those same ideals were held by the generation that followed who fought in WWII. I often think that we are half the men today that our forefathers were, and worry that those high ideals held by the likes of the men depicted on Rushmore are things children today think are nuisances to remember for an exam, not ideals to live by. I'm glad Rushmore exists: no one leaves there unmoved, and hopefully, if for only a brief moment, those ideals are rekindled.

If you've never been, go.